Surface active agents



takis(2-hydroxypropyl )diethylene triamine.

SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS William W. Levis, Jr., Wyandotte, Mich., assignor to Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, Wyandotte, Mich., a corporation of Michigan No Drawing. Filed May 31, 1957, Ser. No. 662,556

7 Claims. (Cl. 260-4045) forming to the formula:

wherein R is an alkylene group containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms, and R R R and R are selected from the group consisting of the 2-hydroxypropyl group, the 2- 1 hydroxybutyl group and the l-methyl-Z-hydroxypropyl group. Typical of the totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene diamines conforming to the above formula is N,N,N',N' tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine. The second class of totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamines used as intermediates in preparing the compounds of the present invention are the totally hydroxypropylated and the totally hydroxybutylated 1,3-diamino-2-propano1s conforming to the formula:

wherein R R R and R are selected from the group consisting of the Z-hydroxypropyl group, the 2-hydroxybutyl group and the l-methyl-Z-hydroxypropyl group. A typical example of the compounds conforming to the above formula is N,N,N',N, tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)- 1,3-diamino-2-propanol. The third class of totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamines used as intermediates in preparing the compounds of the present invention are the totally hydroxypropylated and the totally hydroxybutylated polymers of ethlene diamine and propylene diamine conforming to the formula:

R Ra

R3 R5 wherein R is an alkylene radical selected from the group consisting of ethylene and propylene radicals, n is an integer not higher than 2, and R R R R and R are selected from the group consisting of the Z-hydroxypropyl group, the Z-hydroxybutyl group and the 1-methyI-2- hydroxypropyl group. A typical example of a compound conforming to the above formula is N,N,N',N", N" pen- The totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamines used in the syn- United States Patent 0 N 2,970,158 lCe Patented Jan- 31, 61

thesis of the compounds of the present invention are readily prepared by condensing propylene oxide, 1,2-butylene oxide or 2.3-butylene oxide or mixtures thereof with an appropriate alkylene polyamine in the presence of water at a temperature of 40-420 C. The quantity of oxide used in the condensation reaction is such as to furnish one mol of oxide for each amino hydrogen of the polyamine.

The higher fatty acid and rosin acid esters of the totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamines of the present invention are prepared by esterifying the totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamine of interest with a fatty acid or rosin acid containing at least 8 carbon atoms in its structure. Hereinafter, for convenience, the above compounds frequently will be referred to simply as higher esters." Typical of the higher esters coming within the scope of the present invention is the monostearate ester of tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine which has the folowing chemical structure:

CH3 CH3 7 The higher esters may be prepared by conventional ester-ification techniques as for example by simply heating .a higher fatty acid and a totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamine.

Essentially any 8 or higher (about 20 being the practical upper limit only because of what is available in commercial quantities) carbon atom aliphatic acid or rosin acid may be used in preparing the compounds of this invention. Typical examples of such acids are 2-ethylhexanoic acid, octanoic acid, undecanoic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, abietic acid, etc. When an aliphatic acid is used in preparing the compounds of interest, it is preferred to employ acids having a low degree of unsaturation such as stearic and oleic acids except where the ester is to be used as an intermediate in the preparation of surface coating compositions. It is not necessary to use single acids in preparing the desired higher esters as products with desirable properties are obtained from mixtures of acids derived from natural sources such as olive oil, castor oil, cottonseed oil, tall oil, etc.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that when a higher fatty acid is esterified with a totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamine it is inevitable that a mix ture of products is obtained. For example, when one mol of stearic acid is esterified with N,N,N',N tetrakis- (2-hydroxypropyl)-ethylenc diamine the predominant product will be the :nonostearate ester, but the reaction product will contain small amounts of both the distearate ester and unreacted N,N.N,N' tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine and perhaps minor traces of the triand tetrastearate esters. tion in the subsequent discussion of the invention the esterification products will be referred to simply as the mono-, di-, trior tetraesters, since such designation identifies the principal constituent of the product. Although individual esters can be isolated by complicated procedures such as repeated molecular distillations, such purification is not required since the esterification prod ucts as produced have excellent surface active properties.

The higher esters of the totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamines are lipophilic surface active agents having low HLB numbers as determined by the method of W. C. Grifiin, Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, 1, 419 (December 1949). The higher esters per se have utility as surfaceactive agents in many non-aqueous systems and are also employed in conjunction with their oxy- For convenience in descripethylated derivatives to 'form multicomponent emulsifier 'systems. The simple acid salts of the higher esters, e.g. the hydrochloride and acetic acid salts, are water-soluble and are excellent emulsifiers. These latter emulsifying agents are extremely useful, since emulsions prepared therewith can be easily resolved by-simplyaddinga small quantity of base to the emulsion. 'Thehigher esters, particularly the tetraesters, derived from aliphatic (acids containing high degrees of unsatura't'ion, 'e;g. linoleic acid, function as dryingoils and may be used in surface coating compositions. The monoand diesters derived from the highly unsaturated aliphatic acids maybe used as. "intermediates in preparing oil modified alkyd resins.

The oxyethylated adducts of the higher esters of the totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamines are prepared by adding ethylene oxide to the higher esters ill! the presence of an alkaline catalyst. The solubility characteristics of the 'oxyethylated adducts depend primarily on the percent -oxyethylenecontent of the adduct and v'ary from lipophilic essentially water-insoluble products "when the oxyethylene content is small to completely "water-soluble products such as are obtained when the adduct contains 50% ofoxyethylene groups. The oxyethylene adducts of low oxyethylene content, e.g. -25

"a high loading power 'for 'removing'oily soils from textiles.

'Many intersting emulsifying systems can be prepared'by combining both a higher ester and an oxyethylated adduct of a higher ester toformbinary and even'more complex The following examples are set forth to more clearly illustrate the principle and practice of the invention to those skilled in the art.

EXAMPLE 1 Part A.-A total of'216 grams (1.5 mol) of 'Z-ethylhexanoic acid, 292 grams (1 mol) of N,N,N,'N' tetrakis- "(2-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine and 250 grams of xylene are charged into a 3-neck flask equipped with a -stirrer, thermometer, nitrogen'bubbler and a reflux condenser to which is attached a decanting head for collect- "ing and measuring the water formed in the esterification. The mixture is refluxed until 18 ml. of'water is collected 'which-indicates'that the mono- Z-ethylhexanoate ester has been formed. The xylene and excess of Z-ethylhe-xanoic acid are then removed by vacuum distillation. The product is the 'mono- Z-ethylhexanoate ester of N,N,N,N' tetrakistZ-hydroxypropyl)-ethylene diamine.

Part B.The di-Z-ethylhexanoate ester of N,N',N',N'

tetrakis(Z-hydroxypropyl)-ethylene diamine is prepared as described in Part A above except that initially2.5 mols of Z-ethylhexanoic acid is charged to the reaction and the esterification is continued until 36 ml. of water is collected which indicates the formation of the diester.

EXAMPLE .2

Part A.Stearic acid and N,N,N',N' .tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamineialre charged :in an equal molar ratio to the apparatus described in Example ;I, Part A that is modifiedin that thedecanting head is replaced with an ordinary distillation takeoff head. The

reaction mixture is heated for approximately-4 hours at reflux temperature and atmospheric pressure and .then under'vacuum .at .1.60 C.'until2the reactionlis complete.

- 2-propanol,

in Part A above except that 2 mols of stearic acid are charged for each mol of the N,N,N',N' tetrakis(2-.hy-

EXAMPLES 38 Additional esters of N,N,N',N' tetrakis(2-hydroxy- -propyl)ethylene diamine are prepared by esterification with lauric acid, .oleic acid and .talloil (a mixture of fatty acids and rosin acids). .The :esters prepared are "set forth in Table .I.

Table 1 Example No.: Ester prepared 3 Monooleate.

-4 Dioleate.

.5 Monolaurate.

6 Dilaurate. 7 Mono tall oilester. 8 Di tall oil ester.

"The specific esters 'set forth in the above examples are merely illustrative of the invention and analogous products can be prepared by esterifying fatty acids and/or rosin acids containing at least 8 carbon atoms with other totally hydroxyalkylated alkylene polyamines such as N, N,N,N' tetrakis( 1-methyl-2-hydroxypropyl) 1,3-diamino- N,N,N',N' tetrakis(2-hydroxybutyl) 1,3-diamino-Z-propanol, N,N,N',N' tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)- hexamethylene diamine N,N,N,N tetrakis(2-hydroxybutyl)propylene diamine, N,N,N,N' tetrakis(1-methyl- 2-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine, N,N,N',N",N" "pentakis(2-hydroxypropyl-)diethylene triarnine and -N,N,'N', N,N', N' hexakis(Z-hydroxybutyl)triethylene tetraamine.

EXAMPLE 9 Part total of 800 parts of the monooleateester of N,N,N',N, tetrakis(Z-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine of Example 3 and 15 mol percent (9 parts) of NaOH catalyst are charged into a stainless steel autoclave equipped with a stirrer. The reactor is heated to C. and 200 parts of ethylene oxide are added to the reaction mixture as rapidly as it will react to prepare an oxyethylene adduct of the ester containing 201% .of oxyethylene groups.

Part B.-"Part A is repeated except that the amount of ethylene oxide added is sufficient to prepare "an oxyethylene adduct containing 33% of oxyethylene 7 groups.

Part C.'Part A is repeated'exceptithat the amountof ethylene oxide added is suflicient toprepare an oxyethylene adduct .containing 50% of oxyethylene ,groups.

Part "D.Part A is repeatedexcept that the amount of ethylene oxide added is sufficient to prepare an oxyethylene adduct containing 60% of oxyethylene groups.

Part E.Part A is repeated except that the amount of ethylene oxide added is sufiicient to prepare an oxyethylene adduct containing 67% of oxyethylene groups.

EXAMPLES 10-28 Oxyethylene adducts of the -fatty acid :esters of tetrakis Z-hydroxypropyl ethylene diamine prepared in Examples 1, .2 and 4-8, -inc., are prepared 'by adding varied quantities of ethyleneoxideto'theifatty acid esters following'the procedure of Example 9. :The

.- composition of the products produced is set forth in Table H.

Table II Oxyethylene Example No. Intermediate Ester Content of Product, percent [0 Monolaurate 50 11 do 60 12 do. 67 13 Dilaurate 67 I4 dn 75 15 Dinlcnfo 67 16 do 75 17 Monostearate 50 18 do 60 d0 67 20 Distearate 67 21 ....do 75 22 Mono tall 011 ester 20 23. do 33 :24 50 25 60 26 ---.do 67 27 Di tall oil ester 67 28 do 75 The oxyethylated derivatives of the higher esters were evaluated for laundry detergent properties by the following carbon soil removal test procedure.

CARBON SOIL REMOVAL TEST PROCEDURE A standard soiled cotton fabric is first prepared as follows: i Bleached, unfinished Indian Head muslin (58 x 47, 4.7 oz. per sq. yd., manufactured by Textron, Inc.) is used without pretreatment after conditioning to equilibrium at 65% R.H. and 70 F. A continuous inch wide strip of the muslin is soiled by passing through an emul' sion of colloidal carbon black and water-soluble mineral ioil. After thorough impregnation of the standard muslin in thecarbon black and oil emulsion, the cloth is passed through a power-driven household-type wringer to squeeze out any residual aqueous dispersion, the wringer pressure being so adjusted as to leave in the cloth an amount of standard soil dispersion equal to 120:5% ofthe dry weight of the cloth. The soiled muslin is ;then passed through a brush arrangement which by means {of its mechanical action on the cloth controls the re- .rnovability characteristics of the soil. The soiled muslin or,test cloth is then dried, first in festoon under atmospheric conditions and then in an electrically heated, forced, draft oven. After drying, the cloth is aged for to; 6 days by hanging in an atmosphere of 65% R.H.

:.at 70 F. after which it is cut into test swatches measuring 2.5 inches inch by 3.5 inches 12 /32 inch using iapower driven guillotine paper cutter. Before actual use of the so-prepared standard soiled cloth, it is checked .for. conformance with acceptability limits by the following described carbon soil. removal test in standard deilergent solutions. The swatches are stored at 65 R.l-I.

and 70 F. prior to use.

a. To evaluate the soil removal characteristics of synthetic detergent compositions, 0.25% by weight solutions or other desiredjconcentration of the composition to be tested are prepared in water and 100 ml. portions of such solution are added to each of 10 one-pint jars of a Launder-Ometer (type IZQ-EF-SPA, manufactured by Atlas Electric Devices Company) standard laundry test machine.

Fifteen. V4" diameter stainless steel balls are placed in each jar, after which two pieces of the previously prepared standard soiled cloth are added to each of nine jars. In the tenth jar are placed two pieces of unsoiled but pretreated cloth and this latter jar serves as a blank for determining the turbidity of the detergent solution. The so-prepared jars, heated to a temperature of l40i2 F. in a constant temperature bath are then placed in the Launder-Ometer" and run for 10 minutes at a speed posite solution, as well as the light absorption of the solution in the tenth or blank jar containing the unsoiled cloth test pieces is then measured (by Lumetron Colorimeter). By means of a calibration curve for the Lumetron Colorimeter, such curve being constructed by obtaining light transmission readings of known quantities of carbon black dispersion added to distilled water, the carbon soil removal value sought (in mg. of carbon per liter of solution) is obtained by taking the difierence between the converted values of the light transmission of the composite solution or suspension from the nine jars and of the light transmission of the suspension in the blank jar.

The carbon soil removal values are then reported as a percentage of that of a standard detergent solution used as a reference or control material; viz. by dividing the .mg. of carbon removal value of the test material composition by the mg. of carbon removal value for the standard of control detergent solution which is determined concurrently in the same test run and on the same standard sufficient sodium sulfate was added so that the final product contained 40% sodium kerylbenzenesulfonate and 60% sodium sulfate.

EXAMPLE 29 Representative oxyethylated derivatives of the monooleate, monolaurate, monostearate, monotall oil and the dioleate esters of N,N,N,N' tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)- ethylene diamine are evaluated for carbon soil removal properties by the above described test procedure at an 0.1% concentration in deionized water. The identification of the oxyethylene adduct tested, the oxyethylene content of the adduct and the carbon soil removal value obtained are set forth in Table 111.

Table III Carbon Soil Removal Value, 0.1%

in Deionized Water Percent Oxyethylene Content Product ot Example N0.

ass-tarmac" men men The data of the above table clearly illustrate the outstanding detergent properties of the oxyethylated adducts, since all of the tested compounds have carbon soil removal values far in excess of the standard reference detergent, which is a widely used sodium alkylarylsulfonate detergent. A further outstanding detergent characteristic of the oxyethylated derivatives is that they have high loading power for the removal of oily soils from textile fabrics. The addition of such compounds as sodium carboxymethylcellulose, sodium polyphosphates, sodium metasilicate, sodium carbonate, etc., to the oxyethylated adducts further improves their detergent prop- .erties, particularly where used in hard water.

EXAMPLE 3.0

The oxyethylene adducts of the monooleate ester of N,N,N',N tetrakis(2-.hydroxypropyl) ethylene .diamine of 33% and 50% oxyethylene content (products of Example 9, ,Parts A, .B and 1C) are evaluated as emulsifiers for kerosene by adding 8 grams of oxyethylene adduct and 32 grams of kerosene to a glass stqppered graduate and adding 160 grams of water thereto :insmall increments with vigorous shaking. A stable emulsion is obtained in each case.

EXAMPLE 31 A stable emulsion of kerosene in water is prepared employing the oxyethylene adduct of the vmonooleate ,ester of N,N.N,N tetrakis(Z-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine of 50% oxyethylene content (product of Example .17). The procedure described in Example .30 is employed.

EXAMPLE 32 A stable emulsion of kerosene in -water prepared employing the oxyethylene adduct of the monotall oil ester of N.N,N,N' tetrakis(Z-hydroxypropyl)ethylene diamine of 33% oxyethylene content (product of Example 23). employed.

The procedure described in Example is EXAMPLE 33 Stable emulsions of xylene in water are prepared em- ;ploying several oxyethylene adducts of the monooleate,

EXAMPLE 34 Stable emulsions of xylene in water are prepared employing several binary mixtures of emulsifiers. The binary mixtures of emulsifiers comprise in each case a fatty acid ester of N,N,N,N tetrakis(Z-hydroxypropyl)ethylene .diamine and an ethylene oxide adduct of the same fatty acid ester. The experimental technique employed is identical with that described in Example 33 except that the binary emulsifier is composed of 0.6 gram of the fatty acid ester and 1.8 grams of the ethylene oxide adduct of the fatty acid ester. The specificmixture of emulsifiers employed in this example are set-forth in Table 'IV.

8 Table IV Composition Mixed Emulsifier Mixed Emulsifier Oxyethylatd What is claimed is: e

1. A surface active agent ,consistingof the adduct of about 5 to about weight percent of ethylene oxide and tan aminoester having the formula R1 R3 \NR.N/ Rz ,Ri wherein R R R and R are monovalent radicals selected from the group consisting of radicals having .the formulae --CH CH(OH)CH CH CH(OOCR )CH CH CH( OH) CH CH CH CH(OOCR CH CH5; CH(CH )CH(OH)CH and CH(CH )CH(OOCR )CH wherein in said radical formulae R is selected fromthe group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms and abietyl radical at least 1 and not more than 2 of said R R R and R radicals containing an R radical in its structure; and wherein R is a divalent radical selected from the group consisting of alkylene radicals having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, 2-hydroxy-l,3- propylene, and radicals represented by the formula [R N(R wherein n is an integer not higher than 2 R is a divalent radical selected from the group consisting of ethylene and propylene and R is a monovalent radical as hereinbefore defined.

2. A surface active agentaccording to claim 1 wherein inthe amino-ester R is ethylene, three of R ,'R R and R are CH CH(OH)CH and one of R R R and drocarbon'radical having from 8 to ZO carbon atoms.

-3. -A surface active agent according to claim 1 wherein in the amino-ester R isethylene, two of R R R and R are -CH CH(OH)CH and two of R R R and R are CH CH(OOCR )CH and R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 8 to 20'carbon atoms. 4. A surface active agent according to claim 2 wherein '-0OCR is a2-ethylhexoate radical.

5. A surface active agent according to claim 2 wherein OOCR is alaurate radical.

6. A surface active agent according to claim 2 wherein -OOCR is an oleate radical.

7. A surface active agent according to claim 2 wherein OOCR is a stearate radical.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,248,729 Ulrich et al July 8,1941 2,262,738 De Groote 'Nov. 11, 1941 2,366,498 De Groote et al Jan. 2, 1945 2,382,612 De Groote et al Aug. 14, 1945 

1. A SURFACE ACTIVE AGENT CONSISTING OF THE ADDUCT OF ABOUT 5 TO ABOUT 75 WEIGHT PERCENT OF ETHYLENE OXIDE AND AN AMINOESTER HAVING THE FORMULA 